Frida Kahlo scholars and collectors around the world have jumped into debate right after the publication of a new art book containing never-before-seen Kahlo paintings and diaries. Some Kahlo experts-- most notably relatives of Kahlo’s-- have arrived on the stage to reverse the publishing process as they believe the pieces are counterfeit.
Carlos Noyola, the art and antiques dealer who acquired the collection, says he has proved that it is. There are 1,200 items, worth a fortune if they were Kahlo’s, everything from stuffed hummingbirds, like the one she wears as a necklace in a 1940 self-portrait, to a small notebook of private thoughts and sexually explicit drawings
The Princeton Architectural Press, which published and distributed the art book, will continue to sell it, as the objects are still under study.
While such discrepancies do not prove anything, they do raise significant questions. But Mr. Noyola wonders why the experts dismiss the opinions of those he consulted. He said that he had become the target of a group of powerful interests who wanted to keep their monopoly over Kahlo’s name and the right to study, sell and show her works. “They are slandering us,” he said. “They are terrified that this book will validate the work.”
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